What's up yard? Its ya boy B-Haywood checking in with you! As promised, I'm presenting my first "Vlog" for your viewing pleasure! These are two short video clips to give you a glimpse of how I've been working hard all Summer to prepare for my upcoming NBA season.

The first video takes you through some of the strength training and conditioning exercises that I've been doing with one of the best athletic trainers in Charlotte, Jeff George. The second video lets you see some of the basketball drills that I've been doing with top basketball skills trainer, Idan Ravin, to improve my on-the-court skills.

What’s up yard?! I know I’ve been gone for about two weeks but my last blog and radio interview sparked a little controversy so I wanted to come on here and quelch it! My last blog about some of Stephon Marbury’s actions, combined with a radio interview that I did, have been misinterpreted by some as speaking out against homosexuality. I’ve received some comments and so have the Wizards about it. I just wanted to take a time out and let you know that no disrespect was intended. I was just trying to have fun with a crazy situation. I don’t support or condemn homosexuality and I believe in everyone making choices for themselves. If it doesn’t affect me, I don’t really care. I hope no one was offended because I wasn’t trying to come off like Tim Hardaway.

Alright Yard, just had to get that off my chest. Stay tuned because my next blog is actually going to be a vlog showing my preparation and what I’m doing workout wise to get ready for the upcoming season.

What’s up Yard?! Its ya boy B-Haywood checking in with you! I’m still in NC working out and getting ready for next season but will be in DC this weekend. I’ve got the debut of my new radio show on WJFK 106.7 “The Fan” (http://www.cbssports.com/local/dc) this Friday night from 7-10 pm ET. For all of you that follow me here on my blog, I would love for yal to tune in and listen to what I have to say. You can also call in at 703.218.5111 and ask me any questions or make comments about the show. I would love to hear what you have to say and have your support on this. I think this will be something fun because I’ve done a lot of TV appearances but never anything like this on live radio. I’m going to have a good time with it and want yal to listen and have a good time with me. It’s going to be a great experience. We’ll be discussing the hottest sports topics of the day. All fans are encouraged to call in and voice their opinions.

Speaking of voicing opinions, it wouldn’t be a B-Haywood blog without me voicing mine! Can anyone answer me this one question? What the HELL is wrong with Stephon Marbury?!!! Over the past week, he’s released some of the strangest and most disturbing videos I’ve ever seen (from his 24 hours of Marbury TV Marathon). In one clip he cries uncontrollably for 5 straight minutes with no shirt on while his homeboy rubs his shoulders – why, I don’t know?! In another clip, he eats Vaseline, claiming his throat is sore and that this would solve the problem. Not to be outdone, he has another clip where he dances to a song called “Barbie Doll!” That was very disturbing. If I was on his team, there’s no way I’m getting undressed in front of him after watching that…

Last but not least, there’s the “Stephon Marbury Dance” clip. The more you watch, the more you want to ask if Steph has been drug tested lately? And if so, did he pass? Will someone who knows Steph please let me know what’s going on and why he’s doing all of this craziness? This guy was once an All-Star with Hall of Fame talent – there’s no way he should be doing these cheap publicity stunts. Only way these clips make sense is if he plans on retiring from the NBA and planning on starring in a VH1 reality TV show… And to close things out, I’ve selected some of my favorite clips for your viewing pleasure:

What’s up Yard?! It’s ya boy B-Haywood finally back on the East Coast and checking in. I recently spent a little time at the NBA’s Summer League out in Las Vegas working out with our new coaching staff and some of my veteran teammates like Mike Miller, Antawn Jamison, Mike James, etc. Two things jumped out at me while I was there.

First, we’ve got some great young players coming into the league this year. While I was there working out, I was able to watch some of the summer league games. Based on what I saw, my top-five pre-rookie of the year picks are: Blake Griffin, Johnny Flynn, Tyreke Evans, DeJuan Summers and Stephen Curry.

Besides that, another thing that jumped out at me was a disturbing article that I read about ex-NBA star Antoine Walker being arrested for writing a million dollars worth of bad checks to Las Vegas casinos. That article kind of caught me off guard because he was a premiere player in this league and made so much money that for him to turn around and lose it seems crazy to me. But unfortunately, this offseason, ex-pro athletes and especially ex-NBA players having financial difficulty has become a common theme. Guys such as Randy Brown and Bernie Kosar have had to file for bankruptcy and Eddy Curry, Vin Baker and Latrell Sprewell have all had homes foreclosed on.

This led one of my good friends to ask me one question, where the hell has the money gone?! As I sat there and pondered the question myself, I came up with four reasons why current and former pro-athletes lose their millions as quickly as they make them. I decided to share my list with you guys and hopefully any young athletes reading this will take heed to what I’m saying.

MY FOUR KEYS FOR PRO-ATHLETES TO AVOID GOING BROKE

1. Don’t Give In to Overindulgence: A lot of times, guys in sports figure that the money will keep pouring in for years to come. Even if you have success in the NBA, you’re looking at 10 good years but the average is more like 5. Don’t try to do too much too fast. I’m not saying deprive yourself of the things that your heart desires but just know that you have to do everything in moderation. If you’re a guy who likes jewelry, there’s nothing wrong with buying that nice watch or necklace but there’s no need to buy 10 of them! You can only wear one at a time! And remember that the value of jewelry goes down pretty quickly. I would also stay away from purchasing lots of vehicles at one time. There’s nothing wrong with buying 2-3 cars that you always dreamed of having but if you look in your garage and it looks like you have a fleet of vehicles, you’re overdoing it!

2. Everyone Can’t Live Like You: This is one of the hardest things for athletes to grasp because when you get fame and wealth, you want to share your success with family and friends. You can hook them up a little bit but they can’t live your same lifestyle. I’m not saying don’t buy your mom her dream house, because she definitely deserves it. But don’t buy your cousins and homeboys the same stuff you have and allow them to live off of you. At some point this will put a stress on you financially. The hardest thing for a pro-athlete to do is say no to money requests from family and friends especially when they know you have it. What I’m trying to say is that it’s hard to say no to lending money to family and friends because if you say yes, the requests will never stop because they’ll see that you’re weak and keep asking for more.

3. Don’t Make Bad Investments: This is the common theme and one of the quickest ways for ex-pro-athletes to go broke. So many guys try to get rich twice. You have to realize that an investment is nothing more than gambling. I learned a long time ago to never gamble what you’re not prepared to lose. So if you invest your money, you’d better be prepared to lose it all. And if you can’t lose it all and live the same lifestyle as before then that’s probably not the investment for you. Also, you need to do your homework on all investment deals brought to you. Just because it sounds good doesn’t mean it is and normally if it sounds too good to be true, it is. I have investment deals brought to me every day and two things I like to stay away from are deals that involve me putting up a lot of capital up front and deals that people say are “can’t miss” opportunities. These are two red flags. If these two things come up in a potential business deal, pro-athletes should run for the hills! In this economy, there’s no such thing as a “can’t miss” opportunity and if someone wants you to put a lot of money up front on an investment, it means they don’t have the proper funding and that’s why they’re coming to you. Those are good signs that you shouldn’t be doing business with them.

4. Get a Prenuptial Agreement /Avoid Messy Divorces: My last rule is arguably the biggest of them all – get a prenuptial agreement (prenup)! If you’re a pro-athlete or if you’ve achieved a lot of wealth before you met your mate, don’t get married without a prenup. One of the quickest ways for pro-athletes to go broke is through a messy divorce. I know a lot of folks say it sounds cold-blooded but I don’t care! You have to remember that you worked hard to get to this point and you don’t want anything to take away from the opportunity you have to live a nice lifestyle well into your twilight years. A prenup is nothing but insurance. I don’t believe I’m going to get into a car accident, but I have car insurance! I don’t believe that my house is going to burn down, but I have house insurance! I don’t believe that I’m going to die anytime soon, but I have life insurance! So for all of my fellow pro-athletes, please sign up for “marriage insurance” and get a prenup!

So for all of my pro-athletes, if you follow these four rules, you’re guaranteed a life of wealth and happiness. And if anyone bumps into Evander Holyfield anytime soon, be sure to pass these on to him.

What’s up Yard?! I don’t normally do this but had to hit yal with the remix! I recently read Chantelle Anderson’s blog entitled “I don’t agree at all, but I understand.” After reading it, I don’t agree with her and I don’t understand!

In her article, she professes that “In professional athlete circles (and other circles of famous men I’m sure) the girlfriend(s) in addition to the wife is a given; not only accepted but expected and flaunted.” Not only that but she goes on to defend and sympathize with their mistresses by stating “Women get all the negative societal repercussions of the extra-marital affair (despite not being the married one in the situation) and the men get none. Ho, gold-digger, groupie, home wrecker; these are all terms used to describe the women powerful (married) men cheat with. And what do people say about the guys? “Sucks he got caught”, or the mildly disapproving, “that’s just not right.”

Chantelle, I have much respect for you and usually love your blogs but in this situation I had to come out with a blog of my own to let you know that I think you’re dead wrong on this one. First of all, to say that most pro athletes cheat and have girlfriends on the side is very damaging and a blanket statement. Although I’ve played with guys like the ones you’re referring to, I’ve also played with guys who live the right way and have wives and families that they are faithful to. To say that most men of power and pro athletes cheat and flaunt their affairs in public is insulting and reckless and those who are living the right way should take offense.

Last but not least, what was up with the paragraph dedicated to the defense of the mistress?! You stated “Ho, gold-digger, groupie, home wrecker; these are all terms used to describe the women powerful (married) men cheat with.” Well, I’ve got to call a spade a spade – if you’re having sex with someone to get rent money or to make a car payment, what does that make you?! These women should have respect for themselves and then the public will respect them too…

Sorry I had to get all willy nilly on yal but I had to get that off my chest! Sorry Chantelle, I still got love for you but had to light that a$$ on fire. I’m out!

What’s up Yard?! I know I’ve been gone for a minute but ya boy B-Wood is back to give you a quick update about what’s been going on in my world.

I’ve been continuing to work out hard and have been picking up my conditioning. I’ve been working out here in Charlotte with Jason Richardson (of the Phoenix Suns) and NBA rookie Stephen Curry, who was recently drafted by the Golden State Warriors. We’ve been going hard to make sure our skills are up to par and ready for the upcoming season. And for all of you who don’t know, Steph’s jumper is phenomenal and he doesn’t miss many shots…

On a sadder note, while I’ve got yal here, I’d like to pay my respects to the late great Michael Jackson. He was often misunderstood and highly under appreciated while he was here. I definitely appreciate all that he did for the music industry but also what he did for African-Americans as a whole. He came along at a time when African-Americans weren’t accepted in the main stream media and forced society to look at us differently. Without Michael Jackson, there may not have been a Michael Jordan. He, along with guys like Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali are true pioneers who broke down racial barriers and allowed young African-American entertainers to be as successful as they are today. Again, I appreciate everything that you’ve done for our people – REST IN PEACE.

What’s up Yard?! Once again, it’s ya boy B. Haywood checking in to let you know what’s on my mind…

This week is one of the most exciting in the NBA: NBA Draft week! You never know what’s going to go down. You have teams trying to move up in the draft and teams that are trying to move down. You’ve got teams trading players and swapping draft picks.

This year, my team is no exception as we’re making a great deal to help us move forward to a great future. In case you’re not a Wizards’ fan or haven’t heard, the Wizards are trading the 5th pick in this year’s draft along with Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

I think this trade should cause our fans to be very excited. Mike and Randy both fill huge needs for us. Mike Miller is one of the best shooters in the NBA and has proved to be highly accurate from behind the 3-point arc consistently throughout his career. He’s a high IQ player and most importantly understands the importance of ball movement.

Randy is also a great young player with a lot of potential. He’s a guy who averaged a little over 16 points and over 4 assists per game last year and has the ability to play both guard spots very well. He can carry the load for a team if needed and will provide a great insurance policy for us in case Gilbert Arenas happens to go down again.

A great deal was made here by our GM Ernie Grunfeld, who has a history of pulling off these types of deals. Let’s not forget how he brought in All-Star Antawn Jamison for an aging Christian Laettner and Jerry Stackhouse. He was also responsible for bringing in All-Star Caron Butler for Kwame Brown. This is just another great trade to move our franchise in the right direction. I think it will produce great dividends right away. I can see us winning the Southwest Division, especially if Hedo Turkoglu leaves the Orlando Magic via free agency!

So NBA GMs, if you’re listening, please offer Hedo a big contract so that he leaves Orlando because I’m not trying to see him and Dwight Howard doing any more pick and rolls! It was lethal!

On a sad note, we’re sad to see Darius Songaila leave our team. He’s a true professional and did way more than he was asked to for our team, especially last year with all of our injuries. He’s a good friend of mine and I’ll miss him as well as the Washington staff and fans - we wish him luck!

It’s been a great week for me so far because I’ve been in Chapel Hill working out working out and playing a lot of ball. Lots of current and past UNC players are in town for Coach Williams’ annual basketball camp. If you’re a Tar Heel fan and could have made it to the Smith Center any night this week, you’d have been in Heaven! Guys like Raymond Felton, Sean May, Jawad Williams, Dante Calabria, Shammond Williams, Danny Green, Jerry Stackhouse and I have all been in the building (not to mention the current UNC players and incoming freshman as well). We’ve been working out and playing in some great pickup games.

It’s been amazing watching Shammond Williams and Raymond Felton go head-to-head all week and battling hard! They’ve both looked great. It seems like Jawad Williams never missed a jump-shot the entire time either. And for all of you Tar Heel fans who want to know how this year’s team will look, let me be the first to tell you that they are very talented and we’re going to be in great shape.

Incoming freshman Dexter Strickland looked great. I loved the way he took command of whatever team was on when we played. Freshman John Henson is really going to be special too. He’s NBA lottery pick material after he finds 20 more pounds. His skill level is phenomenal – he’s going to be a beast!

Sophomore Ed Davis looked very impressive as well as the rest of the current Tar Heels out there. So look out for another banner year Heels fans because these boys are stacked once again!

While I was watching Sports Center with some of the guys, we were all shocked to see the story about NFL player Donte’ Stallworth pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter and being sentenced to 30-days in jail and 1000 hours of community service. For me, this really hits home because my mother and I were hit by a drunk driver earlier this year. So let me get this straight, Michael Vick gets two years in jail for killing dogs and Stallworth gets only 30 days for killing someone? Now they say that justice is blind, but even Stevie Wonder can see that more than 30 days in jail was needed here. I think this was a terrible injustice. This is why so many people look at pro athletes with disgust and disdain. I was thoroughly disappointed.

What’s up Yard?! I know I’ve been away for a minute but I’M BACK! I’ve been working out hard and traveling a little bit. I went to DC for a few days to work out and meet my new coaching staff. For all of my Wizards’ fans out there, I hear Gilbert Arenas has lost 20 pounds since the end of the season and is in phenomenal shape –playoffs here we come!

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about what’s really piqued my interest in the news lately. A lot of attention has gone to the fact that USC coach Tim Floyd has resigned due to the allegations that he gave improper benefits to OJ Mayo. While I don’t know if it’s true and if it’s true it’s definitely wrong, that’s not the real issue to me. The question is – why was he in college anyways? This is a guy whose life-long dream was to play in the NBA and was only in college because of the age limit rule forcing him to go. I think situations like this would be less likely to happen if guys didn’t have to do a year in college or be 19 to play in the NBA. Personally, I think it’s wrong and they should be allowed to play. No one says anything when tennis stars go pro and start making millions of dollars as teenagers.

I don’t think the age limit should be enforced because it also has the potential to take millions of dollars out of these kids’ pockets, especially if an injury is sustained at the college level. Along with Mayo, there’s some controversy over Derrick Rose’s SAT scores. He’s another kid who I don’t think should’ve been in college at all. Even though he had a great NCAA run with Memphis, let’s be honest, we all know he shouldn’t have been playing college basketball – he should’ve been allowed to do what he’s doing now – becoming an NBA star.

Since high school players can’t go straight to the pros and are having a hard time with SAT scores and gaining college eligibility, you have cases like Brandon Jennings where he decided to go millions of miles away to play basketball in Italy instead of playing college basketball at Arizona. This is all due to the age limit – he should’ve been playing in the NBA last season if he was good enough. And now you have a player named Jeremy Tyler who is 17 years old and leaving high school early to go play basketball overseas. This kid is supposed to have the potential to be a number 1 pick in the draft but feels he has to skip his senior year in high school and go millions of miles away to fulfill his dream of playing professional basketball because of the age limit.

The main reason why most people go to college is position themselves to get a good high-paying job. I’m not sure if there’s a better high-paying job out there for a young basketball player than playing in the NBA. Holla at me Yard and let me know what you think!

I must admit that I’ve been enjoying my offseason so far! One of the biggest reasons has been due to the great playoff basketball. We’ve had some incredible series with game-winning shots, great defense and lots of action. Throughout everything, one thing I saw the other day really bothered me.

It was when LeBron James chose not to do interviews or shake the hands of the Orlando Magic players who eliminated his Cleveland Cavaliers from the playoffs and ended his Championship run. LeBron is a great player, the face of the league and played great in the playoffs. He really put his all into every game. You can’t take anything away from his performance because his actions on the court spoke for themselves. It’s because he’s a great player and the face of the league that I’m even more disappointed by his actions. I think he made a mistake by not shaking hands or doing interviews. He has to learn to be a better sportsman than that because of what he represents – not just our league but athletes in general. Whether he likes it or not, kids are watching him and following his example. He made a poor choice and I hope if he’s put in the same situation next year or down the line, that he learns from it and goes out there and shakes his opponents hands and does interviews (even if he doesn’t mean it) and demonstrates what sportsmanship is all about.

I think the thing that bothers me most is that he didn’t seem apologetic about not feeling the need to shake hands and do the interviews. When you’re the face of the league, there’s a responsibility that goes along with it. One thing that people don’t realize is that I think he didn’t shake the hands of the Boston Celtics last year when they eliminated his Cavs from the playoffs. (I may be wrong, but I certainly don’t remember him doing it). If this is a pattern, then it’s even more alarming and he’s got to realize it and be better than that.

It’s hard for me to criticize LeBron because he’s usually on top of everything, gets it and does a great job doing everything right. It’s also hard for me to criticize because a few years ago, I was placed in a similar situation and did the same thing LeBron did. I was in a playoff series and my team was losing and on top of that I wasn’t getting any playing time because my coaching staff didn’t feel the need to play me. I was frustrated and when our team lost the series, I walked off the court and didn’t shake my opponents’ hands. I was extremely wrong and want to take the opportunity to apologize to my Washington Wizards fans, teammates, opponents and whoever else was offended by my actions. I hope at some point, LeBron can look back and do the same thing…

Blog Info

Contributors

Archive

My Website

From Wikipedia

Brendan Todd Haywood (born November 27, 1979, in New York City) is a 7' 0", 263-lb. center for the NBA's Washington Wizards. Haywood graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2001. He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft.